Allergy-Friendly Spaghetti and Mini Meatballs

My mom is from a small town with a large Italian American population. My grandma and mom learned Italian cooking from their many Italian friends. Lucky me, I grew up eating a lot of the food that my grandma and mom always loved to make!

This is probably my all time favorite comfort food meal. My husband is part Italian, so he loves it too. It's really simple to adapt to make it allergy friendly and it's just as delicious. I make huge batches of the sauce and meatballs to freeze. The best days are sauce making days because the house smells amazing all day long!

Enjoy!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free).

Mini Meatballs
 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground beef or buffalo
1/4 cup oat flour

1/4 cup homemade tomato sauce, or your favorite allergy friendly store bought sauce

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt

In a small pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onions and cook until just soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
Let cool completely.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a mixing bowl combine the onions, garlic and the remaining ingredients.
Shape into 1 inch meatballs and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until cooked through.

Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon fresh, chopped oregano

1 large can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons fresh, chopped basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.

Sauté the onions until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the tomato sauce and oregano.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer, covered over low heat for at least 30 minutes, but the longer, the better!

Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Adjust seasoning.

 

Serve the tomato sauce and meatballs over your favorite gluten-free, allergy friendly pasta.

 

 

Here is my little sous chef helping!

My Favorite Food Allergy Resources

New to food allergies? I know how overwhelmed, scared and isolated you feel as a parent when your child is diagnosed with food allergies. Luckily now there are several great online resources for information, support and products.
I want to share some of my favorites with you.

FARE Food Allergy Research and Education
The website is very easy to navigate and has so much helpful information. Go to Tools and Resources for excellent guides, forms and information sheets. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter and alerts. The newsletter always has the latest news and alerts notify of any allergen related recalls.

Kids With Food Allergies Foundation
KWFA has great information, recipes, discussion forums and free webinars with food allergy experts.

Allergy Home
Allergy Home has excellent educational tools. Be sure to check out the Living Confidently With Food Allergy Handbook.

Enjoy Life Foods
All of their foods are gluten and top 8 allergen free! We especially like the chewy bars, Plentils chips and cookies.

Peanut Free Planet
They make it easy to buy allergy-friendly foods in one place. All foods are peanut and tree nut free AND made in dedicated peanut and nut free facilities. The also have a lot of foods that are free of the other major allergens.

Allermates
They have cute allergy and asthma alert jewelry and wristbands for kids. Also many other items like, epinephrine and inhaler carrying cases, lunch bags, stickers and more.

Be sure to find out there's a local food allergy support group in your town. Mine has been a great source of local information like school information and policies and they also host some great local events.

Hope this helps!

Allergy-Friendly Valentine Brown Sugar Cookies

Here's another allergy-friendly sweet treat for your favorite valentine.

I got this idea for thumbprint cookies from Kids With Food Allergies Foundation.

I had another recipe for brown sugar cookies that I have been wanting to try, so I used it for these cookies.

For the heart use cherry or strawberry jam. Take the cookies out 2-3 minutes before they are done. Use your pinky finger to make a heart shaped well in the cookie. Fill with just a little bit of jam and bake for the remaining 2-3 minutes. Some of my hearts look more like Mickey Mouse, but that works too!

Enjoy!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan.

Brown sugar cookies

Makes about 20 cookies

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sweet potato baby food purée 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 cups oat flour or flour/fiend of your choice

1/4 teaspoon salt
Strawberry or cherry jam

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the shortening and brown sugar. 

Stir in the applesauce and vanilla.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough onto a baking sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
*Take the cookies out 2-3 minutes before they are done. Use your pinky finger to make a heart shaped well in the cookie. Fill with just a little bit of jam and bake for the remaining 2-3 minutes.

Allergy-Friendly Strawberry Lemon Pancakes

Want something to make your favorite valentine feel extra special tomorrow morning? Try these delicious pancakes and a heart shaped cookie cutter. For topping, set aside some of the fruit purée and mix with a little maple syrup.

Cody and I occasionally have special pajama days. If we're feeling under the weather, or it's a rainy day I tell him it's a pajama day. We stay in pajamas and have a lazy day of reading lots of books, watching a movie and cuddling!

The first time I made these was for a pajama day and they were a hit! Cody loved them and now they're my favorite too!

Enjoy and have a safe and happy Valentines Day!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan.

Lemon and strawberry pancakes 

Makes about 8 pancakes

5-6 large strawberries

1 1/2 cup oat flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup oat milk

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 vegetable oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

Zest from 1 small lemon

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Purée the strawberries in a blender or food processor.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, bakng powder and salt.

In another bowl combine the strawberry purée and the remaining ingredients.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or skillet over medium heat.
Use a ladle or measuring cup to pour about 1/4 cup batter on the skillet or griddle.
Cook until bubbles appear and the bottom is golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Flip using a spatula and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Place on a plate and keep warm in a 200 degree oven.
Repeat until the batter is gone.

Super Bowl Recipes: Allergy-Friendly Spinach Artichoke Dip

What is the Super Bowl without snack food and dips? The problem is that most of the dips have sour cream, mayo, cream cheese and cheese. But even this traditionally cheesy/creamy dip can be made without dairy and egg and still taste delicious!

Have a fun and safe Super Bowl Sunday!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small red onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced 

1 1/2 cups frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 can artichoke hearts, chopped

1/3 cup mayo replacement (I love Soy-free Vegenaise!)

3/4 cup plain hummus

Pinch of cayenne (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat.

Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute. 

Add the spinach, artichokes, Veganaise and hummus. 

Stir until heated through.

Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Transfer the Dutch oven to the preheated oven.

Bake about 20-25 minutes until slightly browned and bubbly.

Serve with your favorite allergy-friendly chips, crackers or bread.

Super Bowl Recipes: Allergy-Friendly Chili

Anyone watching the big game on Sunday and looking for allergy-friendly meal ideas? Or just tired of the cold weather and craving a nice, warm bowl of chili? Either way, this is really tasty and easy to make for a crowd.
This is my husband's recipe and he always makes it, so I especially love the nights we have chili! :)

Enjoy!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan (if you omit the ground meat).

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. ground beef or buffalo (omit for vegan chili)
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
2-4 tablespoons red chili powder (more or less, depending how spicy you like it)
2 large (28 oz.) cans tomato sauce or strained tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cans kidney beans

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven.

Add the meat breaking it up into small pieces while cooking, until browned.

Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, oregano and chili powder and cook for another minute.
Add the meat, beans, broth and tomato sauce and stir.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for about 45 minutes.

Use additional vegetable broth to thin if it's too thick.

Cheeseless, allergy friendly lasagna and our amazing family!

Who knew cheeseless lasagna could be this delicious?!

The idea came from my mother-in-law, Claudia. And she's part Italian, so she knows good lasagna! I'm really happy she came up with this because I plan on making it a lot! It's really good and so much better for you than regular lasagna recipes. You don't have to feel guilty about eating it.

While we were visiting her last month she made every effort to cook foods that were safe for Cody. I can't fully express how grateful I am for this. It's not easy to do, but just the knowledge that the food around Cody was safe made for a much more relaxing and enjoyable vacation.

We also stayed with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law for a few days and they also went above and beyond to accommodate us and make sure Cody was in a safe environment.

For holiday dinners the whole family was very understanding about the food changes that were made. It was all still really delicious thanks to my mother-in-law's awesome culinary skills which probably helped! :) She has a bed and breakfast in Michigan City, IN. If you are ever going to be in the area and want a nice, relaxing getaway visit Tryon Farm Guest House.

I am so very grateful, probably more than they know, and feel so lucky that both of our families are incredibly supportive and understanding. I know some others are not so lucky.

Ok. Back to the lasagna. We tried some cheese replacement options that were just not working, so Claudia decided to make it cheeseless and that was a really good decision. I'm a big fan of the dairy-free cheeses, but in something like lasagna, these options just don't quite work. Believe me, try this, it works!

Enjoy!

This recipe is free of the top 8 allergens (egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, fish-free and shellfish-free) and vegan (if you omit the ground meat).

Lasagna

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 zucchini, sliced and quartered

1 yellow squash, sliced and quartered

1 small eggplant, sliced and quartered

1 bunch kale, stalks removed and chopped

1 package spinach, chopped

1 8 oz. package plain hummus (or see my sesame free-hummus recipe here)

1/2 cup basil, chopped 

1 lb. ground beef or bison (optional)
3 cups Tomato Sauce, or use 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce

1 package oven ready rice lasagna or other gluten free, allergy friendly lasagna noodles.

Salt and pepper

In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. 

Sauté the zucchini, eggplant, kale and spinach until tender, about 5 -7 minutes. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and stir in the hummus and basil.

If using the ground meat, return the skillet to medium heat and add the meat.

Cook, breaking up meat into small pieces, until browned.

Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spoon 3/4 cup of the sauce into a baking pan or dish. 

Place a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles over the sauce. Do not overlap noodles. 

Spread half of the vegetable mixture and half of the ground meat over the noodles. Top with 3/4 cup of sauce.

Repeat noodles, vegetables, meat and sauce.

Add the final layer of noodles and cover with the remaining sauce.

Cover and bake for 1 hour. 

Remove from oven and let stand 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Here is a picture of my little assistant helping me out. :)